The present invention relates to a dental appliance and particularly to a dental appliance for isolating the operative area of a patient's mouth and maintaining the patient's mouth in a open position, exposing such area. The present invention also relates to a reusable dental appliance, hence, an appliance capable of sterilization.
Many different dental appliances have been proposed and used in the past in efforts to maintain the patient's mouth in an open position and expose the operative area. Such appliances are often uncomfortable for the patient, both during insertion and retraction, as well as during the performance of the dental work. More particularly, many such appliances do not provide for the protection of the soft tissues of the mouth and often bear against such tissues during insertion, withdrawal and use, even to the extent of causing injury. Additionally, certain appliances of this type do not provide for the removal of saliva from the patient's mouth and rely on apparatus ancillary to the appliance for such removal. Other appliances of this type afford saliva removal both require a substantially enlarged appliance to accommodate the saliva removal. The larger size limits access to the operative area. Still further, certain prior art appliances of this type cannot be sterilized and, hence, are not reusable.
According to the present invention, there is provided a dental appliance which minimizes or eliminates many of the foregoing and other disadvantages of the prior art appliances and provides a novel and improved dental appliance, the principal features of which provide for isolation of the operative area of the patient's mouth and prevents the patient from closing his mouth during the performance of the dental work. Additional features of the present invention include an appliance having an all-metal construction whereby it may be sterilized and, hence, reused, an adaptability for use with conventional cotton rolls widely used in dental practice for absorbing saliva and isolating the operative area, a specific construction which facilitates insertion and withdrawal of the appliance to and from the patient's mouth, respectively, and a tongue depressor forming part of the appliance whereby the patient's mouth is not only maintained in an open condition but the tongue is depressed from the operative area.
To accomplish the foregoing and other objects of the present invention, there is provided a dental appliance comprised of upper and lower generally U-shaped sections, preferably formed of a metallic wire with each section having a front portion and transversely spaced leg portions. The upper and lower leg portions are secured one to the other along opposite sides of the appliance and adjacent the rear portion thereof in a manner permitting the upper and lower sections to be resiliently displaced from a predetermined orientation toward one another and back to such orientation. The displacement of the sections toward one another facilitates insertion and withdrawal of the appliance relative to the patient's mouth and the resiliency of the appliance imparts a bias to maintain the appliance in the predetermined orientation and hence when inserted, maintain the patient's mouth in an open position.
In the embodiment hereof wherein the appliance is formed of metallic wire, the appliance may be formed by providing a metallic wire in a closed elliptical form and bending the wire about its minor axis to provide semi-elliptical sections spaced one from the other, and open at the front of the appliance to facilitate access between those sections and to the operative area when placed in the patient's mouth. Preferably, a tab projects from the front portion of each of the upper and lower sections to facilitate displacing the upper and lower sections toward one another for insertion and removal of the appliance relative to the patient's mouth. Also, a generally U-shaped wire is secured to opposite transversely spaced rear portions of the appliance and extends forwardly generally in the plane of the lower section to form a tongue depressor. The ends of the wire forming the depressor are secured to the upper and lower sections adjacent the pivotal axis of the sections. The flexible material may also have absorbent properties for absorbing saliva.
In one form of the present invention, a pair of elements, generally semi-elliptical in shape, are pivotally secured to the rear end portions of the upper and lower sections and extend between and are spaced from the sections to form upper and lower clamps. These clamps releasably secure a flexible cushioning and absorbent material along the upper and lower sections. More particularly, cotton rolls may be applied to one or the other of the upper section or associated clamping element by slitting the rolls lengthwise and inserting the section or element lengthwise along the slit. The element thus clamps a portion of the cotton roll between the element and upper section to maintain the roll in position, not only to cushion the appliance within the patient's mouth but also to absorb saliva. The cotton rolls may similarly be applied along the lower section and its associated clamping element, along the leg portions of the upper and lower sections, and along the tongue depressor. The cotton rolls are movable with the upper and lower sections during insertion and withdrawal of the appliance.
In another embodiment of the present invention and to provide for the patient's comfort when the appliance is disposed in the patient's mouth, the upper and lower sections may be wrapped with a flexible cushioning material. In this form, the material bears and cushions between the gums and the lips when inserted. The cushioning material is retained on the upper and lower sections by a wire mesh material secured to those sections. By wrapping the flexible material about the mesh, the mesh grasps the material, and secures it in place about the sections. The flexible material may also have absorbent properties for absorbing saliva.
After use and with respect to either embodiment, the appliance is removed from the patient's mouth and the flexible/absorbent material is removed from the appliance, leaving an all-metal structure, which can be sterilized for reuse.
In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a dental appliance for isolating an operating area of the mouth of a human patient and maintaining the mouth in an open position comprising a frame including upper and lower generally U-shaped sections in spaced relation one to the other and generally conformal in shape to the spaces between the upper gum and lip and lower gum and lip, respectively, of the mouth of a human patient, each section having a front portion and a pair of transversely spaced leg portions extending rearwardly from the front portion. The leg portions of said sections are connected to one another adjacent rear end portions thereof and transverse opposite sides of the appliance, the connected rear end leg portions form a resilient connection between the upper and lower sections, enabling movement of the upper and lower sections toward and away from one another about an axis extending generally transversely of the appliance. The resilient connection maintains the upper and lower sections spaced in an operative orientation a predetermined distance one from the other such that, upon placement of the appliance in a patient's mouth, the appliance maintains the patient's mouth in an open position. Means are carried by the frame for securing a flexible material along the front portions of each of the upper and lower sections thereof enabling the material to cushion the appliance frame between the gums and lips of the patient.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved dental appliance for exposing operating areas within the patient's mouth, preventing the closing of the patient's mouth and affording improved comfort and saliva removal.
These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification, appended claims and drawings.